G. E. Kidder Smith
George Everard Kidder Smith (born October 1, 1913 in Birmingham; died October 8, 1997 in New York, New York) was an architectural writer and photographer.
Smith earned his master of fine arts in architecture at Princeton University in 1938 and accompanied an archaeological expedition to Antioch, Turkey. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, specializing as a photographer. After the war he spent his career traveling the world studying and documenting important traditional and modern buildings for a series of books. He also curated exhibitions for New York's Museum of Modern Art and frequently wrote letters to the editor of The New York Times in civic issues.
Smith was a vocal advocate for the conservation of modern architecture and was instrumental in the successful preservation of Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House and Le Corbusier's Villa Savoie.
Smith died in 1997 of bronchiectasis. He was survived by his wife, Dorothea, and two sons, George Jr and Hopkinson.
Smith's collection of over 14,000 slides, including historic buildings in Huntsville, Mobile and Selma and modern buildings by Paul Rudolph in Tuskegee and Athens, is archived by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology libraries.
Publications
- Goodwin, Philip L. (1943) Brazil Builds: Architecture New and Old, 1652-1942. New York: Museum of Modern Art
- Smith, G. E. Kidder (1950) Switzerland Builds: Its Native and Modern Architecture. Stockholm: Albert Bonnier
- Smith, G. E. Kidder (1950) Sweden Builds: Its Modern Architecture and Land Policy. Stockholm: Albert Bonnier, expanded edition published 1957 by the Architectural Press, London
- Smith, G. E. Kidder (1955) Italy Builds: Its Modern Architecture and Native Inheritance. London: Architectural Press
- Smith, G. E. Kidder (1961) The New Architecture of Europe. New York: Meridian
- Smith, G. E. Kidder (1964) The New Churches of Europe. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston
- Smith, G. E. Kidder (1976) A Pictorial History of Architecture in America. 2 volumes. New York: American Heritage
- Smith, G. E. Kidder (1981) The Architecture of the United States. 3 volumes. New York: Museum of Modern Art / Doubleday
References
- Muschamp, Herbert (October 26, 1997) "G. E. Kidder Smith, 83, Historian Who Wrote About Architecture." The New York Times